Defamation Case Study

650 Words2 Pages

Defamation is a very specific area of law that requires certain and specific elements of fact to be maintained. Therefore in order to prove that defamation had taken place, the plaintiff needs to fulfill three elements. Firstly, to be accused of defamation, the plaintiff has to prove that the statement or communication is defamatory, which in another word he or she had made a false statement about you. The key issue in defamation is that it has caused damage to a person’s reputation. To test whether a statement is considered defamatory, one has to prove that: “Does the communication lower or harm the plaintiff’s reputation, leading the plaintiff being shunned, avoided, exposed to hatred or hold the plaintiff up to ridicule?” This is judge from the viewpoints of right-thinking members of society which means ‘ordinary reasonable people in general in the community’. Besides, the plaintiff must show that their reputation is being damaged in the place where the matter was published, for example plaintiff’s usual place of residence or his or her place of employment. A “defamatory matter” can be blatantly telling lies about a person which it ended up ruined a person’s character. Apart from that, giving a false representation which also known as an “imputation” could also considered as violating defamation. However, the court looks at what an ordinary viewer or reader could have understood the meaning of the communication as the literal meaning is not the only meaning that is considered. The meaning might differ from what both the plaintiff and the defendant think and hence, the court will not judge solely based on what is being told by the plaintiff or the defendant. It is only considered as defamatory when it affects their reputation in...

... middle of paper ...

...” to a third party, no matter it is in written form or oral form is considered as defamatory. For those who work in publication companies like writers, publishers, and editors should be aware of this kind of potential danger. Even though you might only repeating rumors, stories or comments that are made by someone else, you might be charged under defamation for circulating and publicize it to a wider public. For example, a writer overheard a conversation of a bunch of teenagers in the café and he came out with an article about it and publicized it in a magazine. His written piece consists of comments on a teenage girl that work as a prostitute and he named her Miss X from N University. This is considered defamatory action towards the teenage girl because readers will read it and they will identify her. The readers are considered as the third party in this scenario.

Show More
Related

  • Case Study: Marvin Pickering Case

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    The court stated the appellant’s statements were false concerned issues that were important to the public’s attention. The statements were neither shown nor could be presumed to interfere with the appellant’s performance of his teaching duties or the school’s operation (Oyez, n.d.). In the matter of false statements, the Supreme Court looked back at New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964). The school board was unable to prove the statements were malicious in nature.

    Read More

  • Bethel School District Vs. Fraser

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    This case involved a public high school student, Matthew Fraser who gave a speech nominating another student for a student elective office. The speech was given at an assembly during school as a part of a school-sponsored educational program in self-government. While giving the speech, Fraser referred to his candidate in what the school board called "elaborate, graphic, and explicit metaphor." After his speech, the assistant principal told Fraser that the school considered the speech a violation of the school's "disruptive-conduct rule." This prohibited conduct that interfered with the educational process, including obscene, profane language or gestures. After Fraser admitted he intentionally had used sexual innuendo in the speech, he was told that he would be suspended from school for three days, and his name would be removed from the list of the speakers at the graduation exercises.

    Read More

  • Defamation In The Gail Davis V. Diana Ross Case

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Defamation is a tort action that has been widely recognized, nonetheless, it has only been within recent years, that the concept has been increasingly utilized in the employment context (Mcconnell, 2000, p. 78) . However, it is useful to first lay out the elements of the defamation tort as they occur in the employment setting. First, there must be a false, and defamatory statement. A statement is defamatory if it harms the employee's reputation or discourages others; such as potential employers, from wanting to have any contact with the employee. Second, the statement, be it written or oral, must be "published," that is, transmitted to a third party. Next, the defendant/employer must be responsible for the publication of the false and defamatory statement. Last, defamation damage to the plaintiff must occur; caused either by the statement itself, or by its actionable

    Read More

  • Internet Harassment: The Flip Side of Internet Fame

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article The Flip Side of Internet Fame by Jessica Bennett, Internet harassment is thoroughly made aware to inform active social network users of its solemnity. Real life scenarios of people who suffered from public humiliation or social desecration are presented. Bennett makes her argument conclusive by addressing her audiences' pathos and ethos appeal, sourcing credible individuals throughout the article and stressing the agony and ignominy that the listed individuals perceived. Furthermore, the author demonstrates how critical it is to be conscious about the possibility of not recovering from a fatal encounter on a social network and also raises the question: “What's to stop a person from posting whatever he wants about you, if he can do so anonymously and suffer no repercussions?”(115). Bennett tries to enlighten the reader of “the dark side of Internet fame”(113), showing how publicity may not always be marvelous.

    Read More

  • What Are The Similarities Between Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    These allegations are damaging to a person’s reputation and spirituality that, again, were highlighted in their respective social

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Marcel Aubut Harassment

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    The article, Majority of COC staff exposed to Marcel Aubut harassment, discusses the experienced or saw sexual and personal harassment of COC staff members by Marcel Aubut, the former Canadian Olympic president. Both the experience and witness occurred within and outside the company’s doors, as well as among non-COC members while Aubut acted as a representative for the company. The Olympic Committee’s management was aware of these inhuman acts since 2008 but failed to be responsive. The company received many complaints from employees as well as other organization like VANOC about Aubut, but the company ignored the matters. Along with an apology for tardiness, COC’s president, Tricia Smith, promised to implement eight recommendations to allow

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Editorial ' A Case Of Discrimination '

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    The editorial “A Case of Discrimination” published in the New York Times claims the Supreme Court should rule in favor of Hastings College of Law over the student group Christian Legal Society. The authors state the college has always had a non-discrimination policy that applied to all student groups and required them not to discriminate to receive official recognition from the college. They argue that Christian Legal Society had previously adhered to this policy and then in 2004 began to ask members to sign a statement of faith. Due to this, Hastings College of Law derecognized the student group and they sued claiming a denial of their First Amendment rights. Hastings College of Law wrote their policy to conform to California state law, which makes it illegal for state funded post-secondary educational institutions to discriminate based on religion or sexual orientation. Therefore, Hastings College of Law decided it was illegal for their student groups to discriminate as well. The Ninth Circuit decided in favor of Hastings College of Law declaring their rules viewpoint neutral and reasonable (1). Although the claim appears logical, actual evidence in support of their argument is difficult to find. Thus, their conclusion is probably false, because a decision in favor of Hastings College of Law denies their student groups their First Amendment rights and ignores years of legal precedent.

    Read More

  • Hostile Work Environment: Closed-door Meetings Violate Company Policy

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    Facts of the case: Anna’s immediate supervisor, Michael, repeatedly required that she have “closed door” meetings with him. Closed-door meetings violate company policy. Other employees were aware of these closed-door meetings and, as a result, rumors began to spread that Anna and Michael were having an office romance. In fact, in these closed-door meetings Michael tried to convince Anna to lend him money, a practice that also violates company policy. Anna repeatedly denied the request and Michael stopped asking. However, the rumors continued and affected Anna deeply. She was treated like an outcast by her co-workers. Anna asked Michael to clear up the rumors, but he found them amusing. Anna had two evaluations where she scored low points for “integrity” and “interpersonal relations” as a consequence of the rumors. She was passed over for two promotions for which she applied where her skills and experience were superior to the employees who were promoted. She filed an action against her employer on the ground that her supervisor had created a hostile work environment because he refused to stop the rumors.

    Read More

  • Hate Crime Essay

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    What constitutes a hate crime? What makes a hate crime different from a crime or are they one in the same. If you believe that there is a different between a hate crime and a crime, then how can we legislate hate crimes fairly and without bias on a consist basis? When it comes to hate crimes their seems to be more questions then answers and there also seems to be a lot of uncertainty within the law itself. Hate crime laws should no longer exist in are justice system because every violent crime involves an element of hate and it is impossible to prove a person’s motive or hate in the court of law.

    Read More

  • Understanding Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Law

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    Harassment at workplace may include matters such as the misuse, misappropriation of power or position by a superior, victimization, degrading a person in the presence of others by passing remarks about their work performance, their brain power or lack of it. It may include spreading rumors about a person, insulting them on ground of race, gender or disability making them less inferior in the presence of others.

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Defamation Act 2013

    1363 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Defamation Act 2013 was passed to help regulation on defamation to deliver more effective protection for freedom of speech, while at the same time ensuring that people who have been defamed are able to protect their reputation. It is often difficult to know which personal remarks are proper and which run afoul of defamation law. Defamation is a broad word that covers every publication that damages someone's character. The basic essentials of a cause of act for defamation are: A untruthful and offensive statement regarding another; The unprivileged publication of the statement to a third party; If the offensive situation is of public concern, fault amounting at least to carelessness on the share of the publisher; and Injury to the plaintiff. Slander and libel are both kinds of defamation, which refers to statements that hurt another person's name. While there are connections, each concentrate on different forms of defamation approaches. Normally, this will include not only the use of certain words to harm a reputation, but also activities such as finger signals or facial expressions in order to emphasize the fabrication that is being dispersed. If the statement is made in writing and published, the defamation is called "libel." Libel deals with printed matter, TV and radio broadcasts, movies and videotapes, social media sites, even blogs, emails, even drawings on a wall. An unpleasant statement is verbal; the statement is "slander." Slander explains defamation that you can overhear, not see. It is commonly spoken statements that distort someone's reputation. The government can't jail someone for making a defamatory statement since it does not break the law. Instead, defamation is considered to be an infringement of a person's ...

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Laws Against Defamation

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    When defamation comes to practice and people feels threatened with a defamation suit, the biggest focus is on whether or not there is something offensive. Although this is important there is an additional, more practical way to look at it. The important question is whether you have a right to say it. And if the right was present there are few possible defences. Firstly what was said is true, secondly there was a duty to provide information, and lastly it was an expression of an opinion.

    Read More

  • Defamation Law: Libel And Slander

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    The meaning of libel is a false and malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming a living person. Now there have been hundreds of cases of libel in the United States. Some significant court cases are ones like New York Times Co. v Sullivan 376 U.S. 254 (1964). This case was about the alleged libel of Montgomery, Alabama. Commissioner L. B. Sullivan in the New York Times Magazine. The New York times supported Martin Luther King Jr. and his innocence in an alleged perjusry charge, Dr. king was accused of lieing under oath. This court case was one of the first major cases that established the principle of Actual Malice. Now Actual malice is the legal principle that the person printing the article had full knowledge that the statement was false or that the publisher acted recklessly in their disregard of finding if the statement was true or false. But the problem with this it is extremely hard to prove what is in a person’s head. This case was also a landmark case because before it, many news companies would not report on civil rights issues for fear of being sued for libel, but after this case companies were free to report on these issues. It allowed free speech to prevail in the United States. The case was seen as a...

    Read More

  • Interethnic Discrimination Essay

    441 Words  | 1 Pages

    Discrimination is a topic, that some are afraid to talk about. In the work place discrimination can be used as a weapon. For example, an employee claiming that they not receive a promotion because of their skin tone. Also there is a lot of misinformation about how different culture feel, and how they understand discrimination to be. This is why I wanted to find an article for this assignment on discrimination.

    Read More

  • Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Harassment and discrimination claims are due to lack of education about the subject. As an independent human resources consultant, Santiago-Santos will organize a local education campaign and provide employers with different trainings to educate them and their employees about harassment and discrimination. Employers will have a better understanding on how to develop internal policies and procedures to address these claims. Also, trainings will be provided for employees and they will be educated on how to prevent and identify harassment and discrimination as well as what steps to take in order to report such behavior.

    Read More

More about Defamation Case Study

Open Document